Visitreno

[BC Dave]

My apologies for taking almost a month to file this trip report.

This Reno trip was another guy’s venture with four other Reno addicts from the B.C. Ferry Corporation.

I arrived in Reno on Monday May 21st, a day earlier than the rest of the gang. I flew down from Seattle via Southwest Airlines. Outside Reno’s airport, the bright sunshine and cool northerly breeze felt so refreshing after the flight and long drive to Seattle, that waiting for the Sands shuttle was actually quite enjoyable. Check in at the Sands was very quick and I soon found myself at the Eldorado’s buffet for my first Reno dinner. Very good as always. I phoned John and we agreed to meet at his place Tuesday afternoon. That evening I played slots and video poker at the Eldorado, Cal Neva, etc. but luck was generally not with me. I walked back to the Sands but before going up I played some “Pharaoh’s Fortune” and won around $110 and then turned in for the night.

The following day I had a good breakfast at the Cal Neva’s Top Deck restaurant with a $10 food comp I had earned the night before. After wandering around downtown I walked to John’s place and got there about 3:00 in the afternoon. I visited with John, Charlie, Higgins and a friend of theirs for about an hour. Around 4:00 John and I set off to the Fireside lounge for Happy Hour. Tuesdays are $1.50 imported beers so we doused ourselves with Heinekens and devoured the free shrimp cocktails and appetizers. The rest of my group arrived around 5:30 and joined in the revelry. They had just flown in from Bellingham, Washington. As Happy hour’s end neared we set out into the casino to make our fortunes. John and I threw some moola into “Pharaoh’s Fortune” and some video poker at one of the bars. I was supposed to meet up with the guys at 7:30 but the video poker was going well and at 7:45 I couldn’t find them. I found John again at another “Pharaoh’s Fortune” and shortly thereafter we ventured over to a new area of the Peppermill and played “Time for Money” for a while. More Heinekens were offered by nice ladies and they were politely accepted. We were each up around $120 or so and having a good time. Around midnight John decided to head home and I walked out with him with the intention of catching a bus back to town. It was really cold out there and I still had some energy so decided to go back in and win more money. That was a mistake. Thereafter that night the machines treated me very rudely and none would give any money at all except the one near the cashier’s cage that took my bank card. I stayed till 3:00 in the morning but “Lady Luck” had left the building so I caught a cab back to town.

The next morning I met my gang from work at the “Cafe Sedona” (which is the new dumb name for the old “Sweet-Water Café”). Really, how can you improve upon the “Sweet-Water Café” for a restaurant name? We all had Steak and eggs. Despite the new name for the place it was truly an awesome breakfast! Gambled the afternoon away at various downtown locales and stopped by the internationally acclaimed “Shooters” bar. Fully expected to see Jerry in there but I was disappointed. Just had one drink there and went back to the Silver Legacy for a swim. The Legacy’s pool area is quite nice and warm even on a relatively cool day. You can get a triple dose of sun with all those mirrored windows of the main tower reflecting the sunlight back at you. We all met at 7:00 at Harrah’s buffet for dinner and it was very good. Gambled some more that night at the Eldorado and got a couple of 4OAKs on a 25 cent Jacks or Better game that also has reels that allow you to multiply your win if the right symbols come up. Both of my wins were doubled so that kept me going. I tried some Multi-Strike Poker which I’ve often been lucky at but not this time round.

Thursday we again met at the “Sedona” and had…you guessed it …Steak and Eggs. A couple of our guys wanted to go see Boomtown so we walked over to the Bowling Stadium to catch it’s shuttle only to find out it was no longer running. Instead we caught a cab to J. Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks. I played Video poker while the rest of the guys played blackjack and slots. After losing a bit I walked across the street to the Silver Club.
I’ve had some luck there in the past and I like the relaxed old style atmosphere there. I wasn’t able to rekindle my lucky streaks from years gone by though. Back at the Nugget, near the end of our stay there, one from our group hit a nice $500 dollar jackpot. We caught a cab back to town and reconvened at Sterling’s Steak and Seafood restaurant in the Silver Legacy for dinner.

I should mention that all our meals at the Silver Legacy were comped. One of our group plays the dollar slots at the Silver Legacy and he has won some decent jackpots and enough comps to treat the rest of us to, pretty much, all of our meals there. I guess he qualifies as a high roller. At least he is a relative high roller (when compared to the likes of myself). Anyway we all appreciate his generosity very much.

We all congregated at Sterling’s at the appointed time. It was apparent that our High Roller had been well looked after (in the Scotch department) as he played his dollar machines. I was happy to see John made it too and my friends had earlier made sure that I invited him. And so our motley group of 5 Seadogs and 1 Webmaster was escorted to a nice table in this beautiful restaurant. Good chowder was served, followed by escargot. This was my first experience with the snails and I wasn’t totally enamored. My more worldly friends said that they probably could have used more garlic. If my memory serves me correctly half of us had steak and lobster and half had pepper blackened salmon. I had the salmon which was good but pretty damn peppery. Those that had the steak and lobster were very impressed. We were a slightly ruckus bunch but our waiter joined in the fun and a good time was had by all.

After dinner John and I decided to go for a beer. I suggested Shooter’s but neither of us really had the energy required for that place. We turned into Harrah’s and had a beer at one of their bars. Talked awhile and then walked over to the bus station and saw John off. Thanks again, John, for spending a couple of your evening with us.

Friday we met at Sedona Café’ again and had the usual breakfast. Right after breakfast the rest of the guys had to catch the shuttle to the airport. So I bid them a good flight and since my flight wasn’t going till 8:30 that evening I caught a bus down Virginia St. and did some gift shopping. Got some good deals at Marshall’s and Ross. I paid a quick visit to the Atlantis and the Peppermill again then returned downtown and back to the Sands. After another small donation to the Sands I caught the shuttle to the airport. The Southwest flight was full and on time. By 1:30 am I was home and another Reno trip was history.

BC Dave

[alison]

Thanks for posting your report. Sounds like you had a fun filled trip.

What were you thinking introducing your friends to John?? Trying to scare them away from Reno? LOL Just kidding john.

So did you take any pics of the Pep for me? You know me, anxious to see it!

So did you come home a winner??

Alison

[BC Dave]

Hi Alison;
Nope, didn't come out ahead. Just a few small wins to keep me interested.

I got a few outside shots of your castle that show the new tower going up. With the new parking lot and tower, the Peppermill is looking like a monster Vegas strip Hotel Casino. But we board members know it's a notch above those. More neon inside one building than all of Vegas has on the outside. (Maybe). Anyway it was a great time and we're all looking forward to hearing about your upcoming trip. Have fun!

BC Dave

[alison]

Well at least you wons some money to keep you playing right? Thats better then nothing in my opinion.

You should post your pics of the Pep for us to see.

I can't wait to get there. Still seems like forever though.

I am headed to the ocean next weekend for 6 days, so by the time i get back from that i will be around 3 weeks. Then it should breeze on by. (i hope)

[john]

Thanks for the great report, Dave. I was anxiously awaiting it to see if we had fun, and it sounds like we did. Playing those machines with you for about six hours was the most fun I've had at the Pep in a long time. Can't wait to do it again (and again, and again....)

I agree with you about the pepper salmon at Sterlings. Tasted more pepper than salmon. When your lips burn, that's a little too spicy for my taste.

I took Marlene to the Steak House at the Peppermill tonight and had the lobster and mushrooms stuffed with crab and some other crustacean. Mmmmmmmmmmmm, that was good. Marlene had some kind of steak. The bill came to just under $100, and was comped.

Can't wait until your return. Remember to bring Janice and I'll remember to bring Pat. Charlie and Higgins keep asking about you two.

[stan_allen]

I was going to commend Dave for his long and detailed trip report, but the new avatar says it all.

Good work, as always!

[BC Dave]

Thanks, Stan. I enjoyed reading your trip report as well. Glad you finally made it back.

Yes, John, it's official, we had a great time at the Pep. Remind me the next time we win there and are walking out the door, to keep on going.
At least it's nice to fall asleep a winner before you lose it the next day.

BC Dave

[BC Dave]

John, tell Charlie and Higgins we'll be swooping in sometime this fall if not sooner.

BC Dave

[Dave]

Wow Great trip report Dave! I actually got a few questions for you pal. Didn't sound like you spent all that much time at the Sands but did you like it? I take it your friends stayed at the Silver Legacy? Either that or you just jumped in the pool!
What did your friends think of flying out of Bellingham? Was it Allegiant Air?
Do you know what days they fly to Reno? Wow more than a few questions!
Sorry. Thanks a lot for the report I a glad you had such a great time!
Dave

[remano]

[Dave]

Thanks Remano! Their prices sure seem reasonable. Kind of remind me of the good old Reno Air days.
Dave

[BC Dave]

Dave, My friends flew down from Bellingham with Alaska Air (with a stop at SeaTac) and returned with Allegiant directly to Bellingham. I think they were pretty happy about the flights and the nice short drive from our south of Vancouver, B.C. location. I hope Allegiant will be a long term player in the Northwest to Reno market and that they'll be able to add more flights.

BC Dave

[RenoLady]

I'm curious too about the Sands, any noteworthy changes? We used to stay there years ago on some nice marketing offers (discounted weekend rooms) but then the offers were never available. It was like they'd sent out a promotion which only allowed for a couple of people to accept, and you'd get the, "yeah, we still have rooms, but not for the price on the flyer", after about a year of that, we quit calling.

I do like the size of the rooms there, so if Terribles updates somewhat, we might give them another shot.

[Mammothgambler]

BC Dave:

Thanks for your detailed trip report and glad you had fun. Your avatar is awesome...I'm gonna check Shooter's out for sure next trip! I rolled right by it on my last one, so at least I know where it is now.

I don't know how or why I didn't figure this out until just now, but you are in Vancouver right? (BC Dave from Vancouver BC!) Are there any casinos/gambling there? I haven't really had a chance to investigate it on my 2 past trips there, but I'm already making plans for another Whistler trip for the upcoming season if I don't wind up moving and was wondering. The only casinos I know of so far in Canada are the ones in Halifax Nova Scotia and Niagara Falls.

Dave & RenoLady, I stayed at the newly-owned Sands on my "hell trip" back in March and didn't see any major changes...the rooms, decor, etc. are all the same. They took out Tony Roma's, have a new restaurant called Fuzio which I think just opened up, and their new comedy club is called "The Funny Bone." Their players club card has a new look and I was notified that soon, not sure when, they will have it set up where you can accumulate, use, and lose points at any other Terrible's property so that will be good. I still get offers from them with very minimal play but I think another user here recently posted that they don't do Saturday-only arrivals. Their beds are still springy but it's still a good place.

Thanks again BC Dave (from BC!) for the awesome report.

floridagambler

[RenoLady]

Thanks Floridagambler, I think I may stop in and get a player's card next trip, see what offers might be forthcoming.

We have a Fuzio's here in Davis. It's actually my favorite restaurant. It's a noodle shop of sorts, not exactly Italian, not really Asian. My favorite dish is soft noodle with chicken, lemon grass and cilantro. Yeah, weird, but tasty. Give it a shot.

Our next Reno trip is the brew fest on 7/7/07. We'll be coming from Spokane (where we're spending the 4th) and arriving on the 6th. My sis is with R and I, and our daughter is joining us from CA, bringing two newbies, should be fun.